A Review of On-Surface Synthesis and Characterization of Macrocycles.

Macrocyclic organic nanostructures have emerged as crucial components of functional supramolecular materials owing to their unique structural and chemical features, such as their distinctive "infinite" cyclic topology and tunable topology-dependent properties, attracting significant recent attention. However, the controlled synthesis of macrocyclic compounds with well-defined compositions and geometries remains a formidable challenge. On-surface synthesis, capable of constructing nanostructures with atomic precision on various substrates, has become a frontier technique for exploring novel macrocyclic architectures.

Architecture Engineering and Phase Engineering of Rhodium Metallene Co-Boost Nitrite-to-Ammonia Electroconversion.

Electrocatalytic nitrite reduction reaction (NORR) offers an effective strategy for sustainable ammonia (NH) synthesis and N-pollutants wastewater degradation. Herein, we propose a dual-engineering strategy by combining architecture engineering and phase engineering on nanosheet-like rhodium metallene (Rh-NS) coupled with twisted nanoribbon-like rhodium metallene (Rh-NR) nanoarchitectonics (Rh-NS/Rh-NR) to boost NO -to-NH electroconversion. Rh-NS/Rh-NR, characterized by a high density of unsaturated coordination sites and a large specific surface area, greatly enhances the adsorption capacity of NO and crucial intermediates and lowers the energy barrier for the rate-determining step of *NOH formation from *NO.

Diagnosis of PD-L1 related non-small cell lung cancer from micro-liters blood.

Early diagnosis of cancer can significantly decrease the mortality rate, and improve the effectiveness of treatment. However, early diagnosis leads to an increased and additional burden of medical resources. Lung cancer with the highest incidence and mortality rate of cancer presents a great challenge to the health of human beings.

Atomically Dispersed Cobalt within a Bilayer of C.

Individual cobalt atoms trapped within a bilayer of C have been produced by the deposition of Co atoms onto a C double layer supported on graphite. High-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) reveals two stable states of a single cobalt atom coordinated with three C molecules, which is denoted as (C)Co. The diffusion of the cobalt atoms within the C layers is highly limited, resulting in the effective capture of single cobalt atoms in the interstitial sites of the close-packed C layers.

Theoretical Investigation of Elastic, Electronic, and Thermodynamic Properties of Half-Heusler Semiconductors ZrNiPb and ZrPdPb Under Pressure.

The half-Heusler semiconductors ZrNiPb and ZrPdPb have attracted considerable attention due to their excellent thermoelectric performance, owing largely to their appropriate energy bandgap. However, the bandgap is sensitive to pressure, which may influence their thermoelectric behavior. In this study, the effects of pressure on the elastic, electronic, and thermodynamic properties of the half-Heusler semiconductors ZrNiPb and ZrPdPb are investigated based on first-principles calculations combined with the quasi-harmonic Debye model.

Large-scale 2D heterostructures from hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks and graphene with distinct Dirac and flat bands.

The current strategies for building 2D organic-inorganic heterojunctions involve mostly wet-chemistry processes or exfoliation and transfer, leading to interface contaminations, poor crystallizing, or limited size. Here we show a bottom-up procedure to fabricate 2D large-scale heterostructure with clean interface and highly-crystalline sheets. As a prototypical example, a well-ordered hydrogen-bonded organic framework is self-assembled on the highly-oriented-pyrolytic-graphite substrate.

The expression and function of long noncoding RNAs in hepatocellular carcinoma.

With the deepening of the genome project study, attention on noncoding RNAs is increasing. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have become a new research hotspot. A growing number of studies have revealed that lncRNAs are involved in tumorigenesis and tumor suppressor pathways.

Achieving Molecular-Level Selective Detection of Volatile Organic Compounds through a Strong Coupling Effect of Ultrathin Nanosheets and Au Nanoparticles.

The high density of surface active sites, high efficiency of interfacial carrier transport, and molecular diffusion path determine the efficiency of the electrochemical sensors. The ultrathin structures have atomic-level thickness, carrier migration and heat diffusion are limited in the two-dimensional plane, resulting in excellent conductivity and high carrier concentration. A one-step chemical method is applied to synthesize defect-rich Au-SnO in an ultrathin nanosheet form (thickness of 2-3 nm).

Growth of Mesoscale Ordered Two-Dimensional Hydrogen-Bond Organic Framework with the Observation of Flat Band.

Flat bands (FBs), presenting a strongly interacting quantum system, have drawn increasing interest recently. However, experimental growth and synthesis of FB materials have been challenging and have remained elusive for the ideal form of monolayer materials where the FB arises from destructive quantum interference as predicted in 2D lattice models. Here, we report surface growth of a self-assembled monolayer of 2D hydrogen-bond (H-bond) organic frameworks (HOFs) of 1,3,5-tris(4-hydroxyphenyl)benzene (THPB) on Au(111) substrate and the observation of FB.

Kinetic Controlled Chirality Transfer and Induction in 2D Hydrogen-Bonding Assemblies of Glycylglycine on Au(111).

Chirality transfer is of vital importance that dominates the structure and functionality of biological systems and living matters. External physical stimulations, e.g.

Anchoring Platinum Clusters onto Oxygen Vacancy-Modified InO for Ultraefficient, Low-Temperature, Highly Sensitive, and Stable Detection of Formaldehyde.

To avoid carcinogenicity, formaldehyde gas, currently being only detected at higher operating temperatures, should be selectively detected in time with ppb concentration sensitivity in a room-temperature indoor environment. This is achieved in this work through introducing oxygen vacancies and Pt clusters on the surface of InO to reduce the optimal operating temperature from 120 to 40 °C. Previous studies have shown that only water participates in the competitive adsorption on the sensor surface.

A Fullerene-Platinum Complex for Direct Functional Patterning of Single Metal Atom-Embedded Carbon Nanostructures.

The development of patterning materials ("resists") at the nanoscale involves two distinct trends: one is toward high sensitivity and resolution for miniaturization, the other aims at functionalization of the resists to realize bottom-up construction of distinct nanoarchitectures. Patterning of carbon nanostructures, a seemingly ideal application for organic functional resists, has been highly reliant on complicated pattern transfer processes because of a lack of patternable precursors. Herein, we present a fullerene-metal coordination complex as a fabrication material for direct functional patterning of sub-10 nm metal-containing carbon structures.

Complex supramolecular tessellations with on-surface self-synthesized C tiles through van der Waals interaction.

Supramolecular tessellation with self-synthesized (C) tiles is achieved based on a cooperative interaction between co-adsorbed C and octanethiol (OT) molecules. Tile synthesis and tiling take place simultaneously on a gold substrate leading to a two-dimensional lattice of (C) tiles with OT as the binder molecule filling the gaps between the tiles. This supramolecular tessellation is featured with simultaneous on-site synthesis of tiles and self-organized tiling.

Bi selectively doped SrTiO nanosheets enhance photocatalytic CO reduction under visible light.

Converting CO into chemical energy by using solar energy is an environmental strategy to achieve carbon neutrality. In this paper, two dimensionality (2D) SrTiO nanosheets with oxygen vacancies were synthesized successfully. Oxygen vacancies will generate defect levels in the band structure of SrTiO.

Computational Search for Better Thermoelectric Performance in Nickel-Based Half-Heusler Compounds.

Half-Heusler alloys have recently received extensive attention because of their promising thermoelectric (TE) properties and great potential for applications requiring efficient thermoelectricity. Although the conversion efficiency of these materials can be greatly improved by doping, it is still far away from the real-life applications. Therefore, search for better parent TE compounds is deemed urgent.

Electronic Modulation of Hierarchical Spongy Nanosheets toward Efficient and Stable Water Electrolysis.

The energy conversion efficiency of water electrolysis is determined by the activity of selected catalysts. Ideal catalysts should possess not only porous architecture for high-density assembly of active sites but also a subtle electronic configuration for the optimized activity at each site. In this context, the development of stable porous hosting materials that allow the incorporation of various metal elements is highly desirable for both experimental optimization and theoretical comparison/prediction.

Electronic modulation of oxygen evolution on metal doped NiFe layered double hydroxides.

The bottleneck of electrochemical water splitting is the sluggish kinetics of oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) have been proposed as active and affordable electrocatalysts in OER. It has been reported that the activity of LDHs can be effectively tuned by doping of other metals.

In Situ Observation of Stepwise C-H Bond Scission: Deciphering the Catalytic Selectivity of Ethylbenzene-to-Styrene Conversion on TiO.

The conversion of light alkanes to olefins is crucial to the chemical industry. The quest for improved catalytic performance for this conversion is motivated by current drawbacks including: expensive noble metal catalysts, poor conversion, low selectivity, and fast decay of efficiency. The in situ visualization of complex catalysis at the atomic level is therefore a major advance in the rational framework upon building the future catalysts.

TiO with exposed (001) facets/BiOBr nanosheets heterojunction with enhanced photocatalytic for NO removal.

A TiO with exposed (001) facets/BiOBr nanosheets heterojunction (TNS/BOB) was fabricated via a hydrothermal and electrostatic self-assembly method. The photocatalytic activity for NO removal was evaluated under simulated solar light irradiation. Through optimizing the content of TNS nanosheets, the photo-oxidative NO removal rate of 15% TNS/BOB was increased by up to 54.

Novel Au/La-BiOI Microspheres with Efficient Visible-Light Photocatalytic Activity for NO Removal: Synergistic Effect of Au Nanoparticles, La Doping, and Oxygen Vacancy.

Sphere-like BiOI (BOI) doped with La (L-BOI) samples were prepared by a solvothermal method followed by calcination at 450 °C for 2 h. Au nanoparticles were loaded on 6% La-doped BiOI (2%A-6%L-BOI) microspheres by a room-temperature chemical reduction method. The UV-vis absorption spectra show that the L-BOI and 2%A-6%L-BOI samples have a strong visible-light absorption in comparison with the pure BOI.

Oxygen vacancy rich BiO-BiO-BiO composites for UV-vis-NIR activated high efficient photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A.

To fully utilize the solar light, photocatalyst with broad spectrum response from UV to near-infrared (NIR) is desirable. In this work, ternary mixed valent BiO-BiO-BiO with rich oxygen vacancy has been synthesized through one-pot hydrothermal treatment of NaBiO. The results showed that through adjusting the hydrothermal conditions, oxygen vacancy-rich BiO-BiO-BiO nanocomposites with much higher efficiency than single or mixed bismuth oxides (BiO, BiO, BiO and BiO-BiO,) can be synthesized for photocatalytic degradation of bisphenol A (BPA) under UV, visible, and NIR light irradiation.

Synergetic Effects of Pd Metal Nanoparticles and Pd Ions on Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity of ZnWO Nanorods for Nitric Oxide Removal.

Doping and novel metallic nanoparticles loading on the photocatalyst are two effective means to enhance its photocatalytic activity. In our study, Pd/Pd-co-modified ZnWO nanorods were fabricated by a two-step hydrothermal process and room-temperature reduction method. The performance of the as-prepared samples was evaluated through the photocatalytic nitric oxide (NO) removal under simulated solar and visible-light irradiation.

Tumor-suppressive function of SIRT4 in neuroblastoma through mitochondrial damage.

Background: SIRT4 is a member of the sirtuin family of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent enzymes located in the mitochondria, and is involved in regulating energy metabolism, stress response, and cellular lifespan in mammalian cells. However, its function in human neuroblastoma (NB) remains unexplored.

Methods: Expression of SIRT4 in 158 pairs of human NB tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues collected from March 2009 to October 2012 was analyzed by immunohistochemistry, Western blotting, and real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR.

Self-assembly directed one-step synthesis of [4]radialene on Cu(100) surfaces.

The synthetic challenges of radialenes have precluded their practical applications. Here, we report a one-step synthetic protocol of [4]radialene on a copper surface. High-resolution scanning tunneling microscopy measurements reveal that such catalytic reaction proceeds readily with high selectivity at the temperature below 120 K.